


After the Betrayal

by brodylover



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Dragon Age Quest: The Arl of Redcliffe, Redcliffe, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2016-12-01
Packaged: 2018-09-03 13:38:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8716027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brodylover/pseuds/brodylover
Summary: prompt: "So let me get this straight, you kissed her , made out with her, bedded her, and then decided to dissappear for two years?" "Please don't remind me that I am a horrible person" (Surana)still accepting prompts on my tumblr: whatsanapocalae until 12/03 (please request smut I dont know what to do with angst)





	

They had gotten deep, deep into the the bottom of Redcliffe castle, but that didn’t make traveling any easier. Alistair was leaning on Leliana and Dog was making so much noise they were going to be caught any minute. If it were just more of those undead it would be fine but no, this was far worse. There was a demon at the heart of it, that’s what Teagan had said, and now they were lost.

 

Lost in a castle and somehow they’d wandered into a dungeon. She couldn’t help but think about the circle, she’d never seen the dungeon there, she was always a good mage, terribly obedient, until the very end, where her loyalties had betrayed her. Everything would have been fine if she hadn’t listened to that fool, if she hadn’t trusted him. She should have done what was right by the circle.

 

Alistair sputtered behind her, the gash across his lip, pulling the flesh up and away, making blood drip into his mouth. He would be fine. With luck Wynne would heal it without a chance for it to scar. If she had been more loyal, she wouldn’t have met the infuriating man, wouldn’t have met any of them. The world would still have been in danger, but there would only be one Gray Warden instead of two to face it.

 

All the thoughts of the circle wrapped together in one nice little package when she saw him, the only person in the entirety of the dungeon. He looked good, all things considering. Not too thin, like he’d been an apostate, not exhausted from nights on the road. He looked positively spoiled instead.

 

“Jowen,” she breathed, coming to a stop before him, “I didn’t expect to see you here. Didn’t expect to see anywhere, really.”

 

He looked at her and moved, coming to stand right at the bars of his prison. What had he done to upset the Eamons, she wanted to ask it, but she was sure he would tell her himself.

 

“You know this man?” Leliana asked from behind her, shifting Alistair’s weight on her shoulders. He was hardly cognizant, with all his armor she was surprised Leliana had been able to carry him this long without complaint.

 

“Jowen and I were friends once,” she explained, “before he turned to blood magic, that is. He betrayed the circle, and me, isn’t that right, Jowen? Or am I skipping something.”

 

Jowan grabbed the bars and pushed his face against them, “I’m sorry, Surana. I didn’t mean to leave you. I didn’t-

 

“Save it,” she interrupted. She didn’t need to hear his excuses. “What are you doing here?”

 

Jowan took a step back, looking at his hands, probably at the blood under his nails. There were no templars here, he could have done whatever he wished unsupervised. “The boy, Connor, he contracted a demon. Got himself possessed in order to save his father’s life.”

 

“That’s not why you’re here though.”

 

He shook his head, retraced his thoughts, went earlier in his hodgepodge story, “Connor’s a mage. The family wanted to keep it all a secret. I was nearby, I was a mage, they hired me to teach him in secret. They didn’t want him to end up like me, like all of us, trapped in the circle.”

 

“And why were you in the area?”

 

He looked even more bashful at that, pulled away until he was hidden in the shadows. “You don’t want to know that.”

 

“I think I know whether or not I want to know that. I do. Jowan, you have to tell me. I need to know why you’re locked away and not tranquil.”

 

“Is that what you’d wish of me?” the hurt in his voice was impossible to ignore. It wasn’t she wanted him to know that. She didn’t want anyone tranquil. It was fitting though, what the templars thought was the right sentence for his crimes. His crimes of being in love and leaving the circle. “Loghain hired me to poison Eamon.”

 

Alistair stirred and woke at that, trying to gain the strength to pull himself off of Leliana and at Jowan’s throat. Jowan must have seen it, for he pressed himself against the back wall, as little good as that would do for him.

 

Surana crossed her arms. “And you took the job?”

 

“How was I supposed to know not to?” the whining in Jowan’s voice was monumental, “Extremely important war general who’s basically in charge of the country right now? Yes, I was going to do the job he gave me, no questions asked! And, and how dare you, act like this, like I’m the only one here who’s guilty of anything?”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Lily!” He pushed himself back at the bars. “She was innocent, always, and you abandoned her. You let them take her away!”

 

“If you hadn’t put her in danger none of that would have happened! There was nothing I could do.” Surana stepped away from the bars. She couldn’t look at him. Lily had gone to prison for their crime, the only one she’d committed was falling in love. In love with the wrong people.

 

“You just stood there as they took her away, tried to take us both away! You’re as bad as they are!”

 

“Shut up,” Surana whimpered, couldn’t get her voice loud enough for it have any impact.

 

“You loved her, the same as I, and you didn’t do anything. Two years, Surana, she could be dead by now.”

 

“Shut up, Jowan!” she turned and stormed out of the dungeon, Dog at her heels. She couldn’t do this, she just couldn’t. Both of them in jail, one actually deserving of it. She sat down, hard on the ground and hid her face behind her knees. She could feel Dog push up against her, try to lick at her ears (she didn’t know why he did that), but her arms were around her knees making a cage he couldn’t get through.

 

It didn’t take long for Leliana to join her, luckily alone. She must have dumped Alistair somewhere in the dungeon. It would be fun to hear him shout Jowan down, that was for sure. He was raised to be a templar, and he was an Eamon, somewhat.

 

“So, sounds like the two of you have some history,” Leliana chuckled, trying to brighten the situation. It was not appreciated, “Something scandalous I hope.”

 

“Three of us,” Surana corrected, “and yes.”

 

“Three? Well now you have to tell me.” Leliana shoved her shoulder into Surana’s. Still trying to brighten things, still failing.

 

“Jowan met Lily, she was a chantry sister like yourself. Jowan and I were already together, in secret, without a word for it. You’re not allowed love in the circle. He introduced Lily and she was able to teach us about the things we were already doing. I didn’t know it, but I loved her.”

 

“So let me get this straight, you kissed her,” Surana shot her a look and she smiled, realizing it was more than that. “made out with her, bedded her?” Surana nodded, “and then decided to disappear for two years?”

 

“Please don’t remind me that I am a horrible person.” Surana lowered her head once more into her arms.

 

Leliana sighed and leaned back against the wall, “Could be worse, I suppose. What are you going to do about lover boy in there?”

 

Surana just tightened in on herself. She didn’t know. She didn’t want to be the one who had to know. Someone else could be in charge, she didn’t want it anymore.


End file.
